Preparing for the Apocalypse

So ahead of X Men Apocalypse coming soon i have finally watched First Class and Days of Future Past.

First Class to start with! I really enjoyed it. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are a great fit for the younger McKellen and Stewart!

Erik is such a confusing character. I find it quite difficult to see him as a proper baddie because he’s not really. He’s just not the best ideas of how to deal with things, but does want to protect mutants. I had the same problem with Ian McKellen’s version. I can’t help but like him a bit. Also seeing his back story in this film just reinforced that further. I mean I’m not into murder being a good thing but the way he got back at Shaw in the end – cheering at my TV! Bloody brilliant.

Interesting to see Mystique (sp?) being Charles’ good friend knowing it flips to her siding with Erik in the later set versions. Seems through Days of Future Past she’s still a bit between the two of them. Let’s see how Apocalypse goes.

I wish i remembered more about the cold war and cuban missile crisis from my GCSE history days as i felt a bit muddled up at times but it made for an interesting setting and i like how it shows mutants being part of everyday life and history we know.

One of my favourite moments was meeting Hank. Realising he wasn’t scary furry blue man yet so when he was suggesting an experimental drug i though…well Hank…think we all know how this is going to go buddy.

Also A+ cameo from a never aging Hugh Jackman…but i suppose that ability of his is explained.

Speaking of! Days of Future Past.

Well this was a fun one! Fantastic way to bring both generations of Erik and Charles together! All very dramatic. That speedy kid who sits around playing games is that the same fella from Avengers: Age of Ultron? Friends with Scarlet Witch? Quicksilver is it? He’s been doubled up a bit there.

I spent most of this film thinking “ERIK..WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!” We just never know what is going on inside his head. You think he wants one thing then he changes his mind. Yes, we need to get rid of Raven so she doesn’t kill that guy that leads to the destruction of all mutants. General plan seems to be…don’t let people see mutants as dangerous. No..Erik has a better idea…make them see mutants as so dangerous that they’re a massive threat. HOW IS THAT HELPING ERIK?! The only side he’s on is his own.

Final thing, cleverly done X-Men folk. Zooming back into the past and treading on a few butterflies..what a way to pretty much wipe out the original X-Men trilogy. Or at least any fatalities. Excited to see where it all goes.

“I don’t wanna survive…i wanna live”

12 Years A Slave

TRAILER – For those who for some reason haven’t heard of this

***Spoilers likely but i won’t be going into much detail***

So, you’ve probably at least heard of this film. It seems to be a front runner for a lot of big awards and i don’t think i’ve seen a bad word against it. Directed by Steve McQueen and with an absolutely fantastic cast…I saw this film yesterday.

Well…gosh. It’s quite hard to talk about this film as i would normally because it feels utterly wrong to use phrases like “well that bit was really good” or “i really enjoyed that bit” because that really wouldn’t sit well.

The film is a good film! It really is…if you re-evaluate the term “good” in your head to fit the situation. It’s not nice and entertaining i wouldn’t say you sit through it and enjoy it…but i can certainly appreciate that as a film it is fantastic. It’s certainly a heavy watch…as you would expect with this subject, it’s a brutal and honest account and at between 2 and 2 and a half hours there really isn’t much relief from the mood. I mean…as scenarios you can think of for the end of this film goes…we probably get the best one. But i certainly found myself thinking, “well..that’s a…happy? ending…but i can’t appreciate it at all”.

There were points where i physically had to turn away and it had me crying by the end.

I’ve not really painted a nice picture of this film have i? haha! It is..as you expect, a horrific subject and difficult to watch…but you should..it is an experience!

As i mentioned earlier..what a cast! Really really brilliant all round!

Chiwetel Ejiofor…WOW! He plays Solomon Northup who’s story we follow and he is in pretty much every scene i think, but boy he certainly carries this film and carries it brilliantly! I think this film will do wonderful things for him. He’s been in quite a few films/tv shows if you check out his IMDB page ….but i must admit the only thing i’d really known him for was “that guy who Keira Knightley gets married to in Love Actually but no one pays that much attention to him because that other guy’s in love with her” haha!!

Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o especially (who it seems is very new to the acting scene! I hope she gets a lot of work in the future she is truly fantastic!) are amazing.

One thing i will touch on is the fact it is based on a true story. Personally, i tend to struggle to truly see the reality of huge terrible events..whether they be part of history or even now. I have small moments of realisation when the horror truly hits me but i’ve noticed this as i’ve learnt more about myself growing up i find it hard to hold onto that. The film draws to a conclusion by bringing up some small facts about Solomon’s future…how he took those responsible for his treatment to trial..even his kidnappers. Cases which he lost. These facts appearing at the end was something that really drilled it home for me. It’s almost easier to disassociate yourself from the reality of these things when you’re watching a film but you suddenly think “wow..what i just witnessed actually happened” and that’s quite a thought.

I’ll wrap it up by mentioning the score for the film. I’m going to have to look into it more but i saw in the credits it was by Hans Zimmer. No wonder it was beautiful. The music was a part of the film i really noticed and thought i will have to listen to separately…even despite everything else that was going on!

So, as i say….see the film! You should! It’s a marvelous piece! It really does stay with you..i’ve thought about it a lot today!